THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR | 2,905,611 VISITORS VISIT 8,324,077 TIMES 3 TIMES EVERY DAY IN ONE YEAR. HIGHEST ACTIVITY IN WPCNR HISTORY.White PlainsCitizeNetReporter lifted its worldwide visits from unique visitors to wpcnr.com to 8,324,077,a 1,306,419 increase in visits in one year from 7,017,658 visits to the site last year which covers White Plains and Westchester County. The 8,324,077 visits were made by 2,005,611 unique visitors who visited wpcnr an average of 3 visits a day. ON JULY 20- -2026 visitors have accessed wpcnr and made 3,072 visits an average of 1.6 visits. In the last week 33,495 individual vistors made 54,458 visits, averaging 1.6 visits. In the last month, 152,940 visitors recorded 229,338 visits (1.5 visits)

Mall Mogul Says White Plains Mall Has Not Been Sold, But He’s Courted.

Posted on June 11, 2003 by John Bailey

WPCNR WHITE PLAINS STREET. By John F. Bailey. June 11, 2003: The Council of Neighborhood Associations was stunned Tuesday evening when, Planning Commissioner Susan Habel, in discussing the state of development in White Plains said that Jim Benerofe, publisher of Suburban Street and Editor of SuburbanStreet.com, White Plains Week personality, and one of White Plains leading figures in real estate, had sold the White Plains Mall, a property he and his brothers own.

WHITE PLAINS MALL NOT SOLD SAYS MALL MOGUL: Jim Benerofe, pictured at the Robert Ruger Birthday Party in November. Mr. Benerofe told WPCNR today that city reports he and his partners had sold their pioneer property, the White Plains Mall, were not true. He said the property was being pursued by several suitors, but no deal had been struck. The interest in the White Plains Mall was further indication that interest in White Plains properties was attracting discerning investors to the White Plains downtown opportunities
Photo by WPCNR

Ms. Habel, in her remarks to the Council of Neighborhood Associations last night, said it was the city’s intent to keep the White Plains Mall property, as it is presently zoned. She said it was the city’s intent to allow no changes in zoning that would allow grandiose development of the property to future owners, or development that would encroach on the North side residential neighborhood north of Hamilton Avenue.

Business Journal & WPW Report Cappelli Wants to Turn South Tower Into Condos

Posted on June 10, 2003 by John Bailey

WPCNR WHITE PLAINS CAPPELLI CHRONICLES. June 10, 2003: Alex Philippidis, Editor of Westchester County Business Journal and White Plains Week news personality reports that in his exclusive post Westchester County Association Annual Spring Dinner interview with Super Developer Louis Cappelli, Mr. C. told him he was planning to turn his 35-story City Center apartment tower from 300 apartments into 150-condominium apartments.

WESTCHESTER COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL’S Philippidis said Mr. Cappelli was “close” to acquiring $85 Million to build to erect the second of his twin ziggurats at his “signature” City Center complex in the heart of White Plains last week, and also broke the story of Cappelli switching the building to “All-Condo” on Monday evening’s White Plains Week cablecast on WPPA-TV . White Plains “Spirit of 76.”
Photo by WPCNR STAGE CAM

In his bylined Page 3 dispatch in Westchester Business Journal this week, Mr. Philippidis says Mr. Cappelli reports he plans to sell the condominium units for $600,000 and up for a 1-bedroom unit with the condo apartments being about double the size of previously approved rental units in the tower.

NORTH TOWER OF CITY CENTER RISING ON MAIN STREET: It’s companion building is planned to go “all-condo”.
Photo by WPCNR News

The Mayor’s Press Office did not return calls from WPCNR to ascertain whether a site plan amendment was required to approve the change in plan, but Common Council sources thought the change in nature of the planned South Skyscraper would require going back before the Common Council.

A Council member, speaking on condition of anonymity speculated that a quid quo pro might be in order to make some of the condos “working families housing,” since the precedent was set in granting devoloper Frank Cantatore approval for condominiums at 10 Windsor Terrace in exchange for a $20,000 contri bution towards “Working Families Housing.”

The Real Me Helps Teens in Treatment Centers Gain Confidence

Posted on June 7, 2003 by John Bailey

WPCNR SUNDAY MAGAZINE. By Michelle Lippin and Linda Lieberman. June 8, 2003:What could possibly hold the attention of 39 teenage girls, between the ages of 13 and 18, for an entire evening? MAKEUP and skin care presented by the professional hair and make-up artists Thomas Mannarino, Melissa Corsetti and Lisa Decarlo of Ardsley’s Salon 877.

You could hear a pin drop as the girls watched two of their cottage-mates transformed into model-like beauties by the hair and make-up artists. The onjective of the program was to teach teens how to take care of their skin and apply make-up for day-wear, job interviews or a dramatic evening out.

The evening was sponsored by theYoung Leaders Council of Westchester Region of Hadassah under their program The Real ME, Proud for ALL to See for teenage Girls living in foster care at the Graham School in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. The Graham School is part of the Graham Windham agency, which is the oldest non-sectarian foster care program in the country, founded in 1806 in New York City.

Often, teenagers try to imitate the models they see in magazines and end up with heavy, severe results. The make-up professionals from Salon 877 showed them how they can use make-up more naturally, to highlight their best features.

When Jazzette saw herself after all was done she said, “I feel like putting on an elegant gown and going out special for the evening.”
All the girls received beautiful gift bags filled with donated make-up and skin care items- in time for their prom.

The Real ME, Proud for ALL to SEE was a year-long community service project, during which the young, dynamic Hadassah leaders/ volunteers gathered health and beauty items, magazines, CDs through a gala fundraising event at Neiman Marcus, White Plains and donations from members of Greenburgh Hebrew Center in Dobbs Ferry and Temple Beth Abraham in Tarrytown.

The Young Leaders of Westchester Region of Hadassah’s inaugural project, LIDZ & VIDZ for KIDZ, won the 2000 National Hadassah community service award. It involved the collection and donation of new baseball caps, videos and videocassette players and books to patients in hospital pediatric wards throughout the region.

Special thanks go to Michele Lippin, Hadassah coordinator, and Hadassah Young Leaders volunteers Barbara Rose, Karen Everett, Sharon Messing, Debbie Schwartz, Riki Falkson, Anna Miller, Gila Fortensky, Deborah Wiskind, Leslie Liss and Lisa Davidson, as well as Diane Kaplan, Westchester Region of Hadassah field consultant, and Region president Fern Tannenbaum. Thanks also to Eveready Drugs, LLC-Scott Scheinblum, Salon 877’s Thomas Mannarino, Melissa Corsetti and Lisa Decarlo for all their help and support on this project.

For more information about Hadassah call 914-937-3151 or visit www.scarsdalenet.com/hadassah. A copy of Hadassah’s latest Financial Report is available by writing the Hadassah Finance Department, 50 W. 58th St., NewYork, NY 10019.

Adam In Albany: Assembly Passes Rockefeller Drug Law Reform

Posted on June 7, 2003 by John Bailey

WPCNR’S ADAM IN ALBANY. By District 89 Assemblyman Adam T. Bradley. June 7, 2003:New York’s fight against illegal drugs is far from over. Despite our best efforts, drug addiction and drug-related crimes continue to plague our communities. Unfortunately, our approach to combating drugs has not changed much in decades. New York’s antiquated Rockefeller drug laws fail to address the underlying problem of addiction.

Since their enactment in 1973, the Rockefeller drug laws have become infamous for their severe and inflexible mandatory minimum sentences. The law has been criticized as being unnecessarily harsh and counterproductive. Its mandatory sentencing has often led first-time nonviolent drug offenders to receive prison terms longer than murderers and rapists.

In an effort to make the law more effective, the Assembly passed a plan to reform New York’s antiquated Rockefeller drug laws, allowing judges to sentence some non-violent, lower-level offenders to mandatory drug treatment programs as a potential alternative to prison. The plan is expected to save New York $164 million annually, alleviating crowded prisons while cracking down on violent offenders and treating the causes of drug-related crime.

After 30 years, it’s time to acknowledge that mandatory prison sentences do not cure drug addiction. And in terms of reducing crime, research shows that treatment is a much more effective and less costly alternative to incarceration. This measure frees the court to decide the most appropriate sentence – to make the punishment fit the crime.

A 1997 Rand Corporation study that found drug treatment was 15 times more effective than mandatory sentencing in reducing serious crimes committed against people and property by drug offenders. Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman has estimated that graduates of the drug court diversion program operated by the court system commit two-thirds fewer crimes than drug offenders who are simply incarcerated for a period of time.

The Assembly bill (A.7078) would:

• Give judges and prosecutors discretion in recommending drug treatment as a potential alternative to prison;
• Create a new drug-related Class B-II felony for certain lower level sale or possession cases involving relatively small amounts of narcotics; and
• Give judges more flexibility in sentencing individuals on Class B and lower felonies.

New York has achieved great success in reducing crime – especially violent crime – in recent years. We can build on this success by working to eliminate the problem of substance abuse, which lies at the core of most criminal behavior.

Treating the causes of crime

Under these drug law reforms, prosecutors will have the ability to recommend and judges may order certain drug offenders, whose non-violent crimes resulted from drug abuse, to treatment programs as an alternative to a mandatory state prison term.

The plan allows prosecutors to first review whether or not a non-violent drug offender should be diverted from prison to drug treatment. A judge would then make the final determination on whether an offender is placed in mandatory drug treatment as a potential alternative to prison.

Combating drug-related gun violence

Recognizing the deadly connection between the drug trade and firearms, the new legislation imposes a mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of possessing a loaded handgun with the intent to use it while selling or attempting to sell drugs. The plan also retains life sentences for drug kingpins who engage in major drug trafficking.

I am confident that reforming the Rockefeller drug laws is a more effective approach to fighting drugs in New York, and urge the Senate and the governor to join the Assembly in the long-overdue effort to reform these harsh and draconian laws. These laws have ruined lives and failed to solve the drug epidemic facing our communities.